Rowlocks



' s. MCCARTHY July 7, 1-970 ROWLOCKS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 16. 1969 FlCll July 7,1970 s. M cART|-|Y 3,518,958

nownocxs Filed May 16, 1969 Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 2

United States Patent 3,518,958 ROWLOCKS Stanley McCarthy, Gatley, England, assignor to The Dunlop Company Limited, London, England, a British company Filed May 16, 1969, Ser. No. 825,171 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 25, 1968, 25,100/ 68 Int. Cl. B63h J 6/06 US. Cl. 115-245 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to rowlocks for small craft, particularly for inflatable craft.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved rowlock, for inflatable craft.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rowlock which enables a stowed oar to be moved quickly and easily into a rowing position.

According to one aspect of the invention a rowlock for a small craft comprises a base member for attachment to the craft and two abutment members extending from the base member, the two abutment members being arranged to be spaced apart in the fore-and-aft direction of the craft so as to define a passage for an associated oar therebetween, the base portions of the abutment members also being arranged to be spaced apart in a direction transversely of the said fore-and-aft direction.

According to a further aspect of the invention a small craft having a rowlock comprises a base member and two abutment members extending from the base member, the two abutment members being spaced apart in the fore-and-aft direction of the craft so as to define a passage for an associated oar therebetween and the base portions of the abutment members also being spaced apart in a direction transversely of the said fore-andaft direction.

The base members may be formed from two separate parts secured to a further component such as the fabric of a buoyancy tube of an inflatable craft, the abutment members being in the form of lugs extending respectively from the two parts and each part and the associated lug being moulded in one piece from a rubber or plastics material.

Alternatively, the base member and abutment members may be formed together as a one-piece moulding the abutment members preferably constituting a single moulding including a bridging portion joining the base portions thereof.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an inflata- Patented July 7, 1970 ble craft incorporating a pair of rowlocks according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the staboard rowlock shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic end elevation of a modified form of the rowlock shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an alternative rowlock.

An inflatable craft as seen in FIG. 1 comprises a buoyancy tube 1 and two rowlocks 2, 3 bonded to the buoyancy tube 1 one on each side of the craft.

Each rowlock, as seen more clearly in FIG. 2, comprises a base member formed from two separate rectangular moulded rubber base parts 4, 5. Each base part 4, 5 has one planar face for attachment to the buyancy tube 1 of the inflatable craft and a raised portion 6, 7 in the form of a lug extendin from its other face.

Each lug 6, 7 has a base portion which forms an abutment member for an associated oar and is shaped so that the end portion 8, 9 of the lug extends parallel to the planar face of the associated base part 4, 5. A U-shaped recess is defined between the lug 6, 7 and the associated base part 4, 5.

Two base parts 4, 5 are bonded in side by-side relationship to the buoyancy tube 1 of the craft to form a complete base member which incorporates the fabric of the tube 1 and the two base parts 4, 5, and the base parts 4, 5 are arranged so that the end portions 8, 9 of the associated lugs 6, 7 extend in the fore-and-aft direction of the craft.

The two base parts 4, 5 are arranged so that the associated end portions 8, 9 extend towards each other and so that the end portion 8 associated with the outermost base part 4 points aft and the end portion 9 associated with the innermost base part 5 points forward.

The outermost base part 4 is arranged slightly forward of the innermost base part 5 so that the two lugs 6, 7 are spaced apart in the fore-and-aft direction of the craft and so that the two U-shaped recesses define a passage for an associated oar.

In FIG. 1, one oar 10 is shown in rowing position in rowlock 2. A second oar 11 is shown in the stowed position.

Locating marks 12 are provided on the edges of the two base parts 4, 5 and the two base parts 4, 5 are secured in position on the buoyancy tube 1 with the marks aligned to ensure correct assembly of the rowlock.

The edges of the lugs 6, 7 and base parts 4, 5 defining the U-shaped recesses are curved or radiussed to reduce drag on the oar.

The base parts 4, 5 are secured to the buoyancy tube 1 with one edge of one base part 4 in contact with one edge of the other base part 5 and with this arrangement the base portions of the lugs 6, 7 are spaced apart in a direction transversely of the fore-and-aft direction of the craft.

The second oar '11 shown in FIG. 1 is in the stowed position and in this position the oar 11 extends in the fore-and-aft direction with its shaft in the transverse space between the two lugs. The oar 11 is held in the stowed position by the two lugs 6, 7 and by retaining means comprising a quick release strap 13' attached to the "buoyancy tube 1 in a position aft of the rowlock for holding the blade of the oar 11 and a pocket 14 attached to the buoyancy tube 1 in a position forward of the rowlock for location of the loom end of the oar 11.

When required the car 11 is moved into a rowing position by releasing the strap 13 and moving the end of the oar '11 out of the locating pocket 14 and then inboard to cause the oar 11 to swing into position in the rowlock 3.

In a modification of the embodiment described above the two base parts 4, of each rowlock are bonded to a flexible sheet 15 of rubberized fabric (as seen in FIG. 3) which is then bonded to the craft.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 a rowlock 20 is formed as a one-piece moulding and includes a base part 21 from which a pair of abutment members 22, 23 project upwardly. The members 22, 23 are spaced apart both in the fore-and-aft direction and in the transverse direction and arranged so that an oar can be passed through the opening between them. The. members 22, 23 thus form part of a single moulding including a common bridging portion 24 and base portions 25, 26.

The transversely opposed face of base portions 25, 26 of the abutment members 22, 23 are formed with longitudinally extending semicircular channels 27, 2 8 respectively to enable the shaft of an oar to be accommodated between the abutment members 22 and 23 when the oar is in the longitudinally-aligned, stowed position and a strap 19 is provided to hold the oar in the stowed position.

In the operative position of the oar, it is arranged to bear on a smoothly curved surface 30 of the abutment member 22, and is also supported on a slightly raised ledge 31 extending longitudinally from the abutment member 23. The upper surface of the ledge 31 is serrated by a series of transverse, vertical knife cuts 32 so as to provide a compliant surface on which the oar can rest and which allows free movement of the oar, reducing a tendency for the oar to rotate about its axis which may ocour when supported on a rigid, high-friction rubber surface. The small ribs formed between the knife cuts are of such dimensions as to be easily bent sideways relative to their longitudinal direction, thus providing a limited degree of free movement of the oar in contact with the ribs.

In the embodiments described above each rowlock is formed from rubber, preferably a chloroprene rubber because of the resistance of this material to weathering, although any suitable natural or synthetic rubber or plastics material can be used which has suitable resistance to weathering, or is suitably treated to resist weathering, for example by the incorporation of antiozonants in the material.

One advantage of the use of a rubber or plastics material is that the rowlock can be formed by moulding and consequently can be readily and inexpensively manufactured. In addition a rowlock formed from a rubber or plastics material has the advantage that it can be flexibly and consequently more easily attached to a nonrigid curved surface of an inflatable craft.

However, a rowlock according to the invention may be formed from any other suitable material, for example, wood, leather or a light alloy. In the. embodiment described above the base member of each rowlock is formed in two parts and with this arrangement in the case where the rowlock is formed from a nonflexible material the planar faces of the two base parts adopt a suitable angular relationship when the rowlock is bonded to a curved surface. In the case where the two base parts are bonded to a flexible sheet a flex line is created between the two parts.

In the embodiment described above each rowlock, when not in use for rowing can be used as a holding means for a stowed oar and in combination with a retaining means enables a stowed oar to be held securely in position and when required to be presented quickly and easily into a rowing position.

Having now described my invention, What I claim is:

1. A rowlock for a small craft, comprising a base member having a surface for attachment to the craft and two abutment members rigidly attached to and extending from the base member in a direction away from said surface, the two abutment members spaced apart in the foreand-aft direction of the craft to define a passage for an associated oar therebetween, said abutment members including lugs having end portions extending towards each other in said fore-and-aft direction and substantially parallel to said base member, the base portions of the abutment members also being arranged to be spaced apart in a direction transversely of the said fore-and-aft direction.

2. A rowlock according to claim 1 wherein the said end portions overlap each other in the said fore-and-aft direction.

3. A rowlock according to claim 1 wherein the abutment members are formed integrally with the base member.

4. A rowlock according to claim 1 wherein the base member comprises two separate base parts, the abutment members extending respectively from the two parts.

5. A rowlock according to claim 4 wherein the two base parts are secured to a flexible sheet, the sheet being arranged to be secured to the craft.

6. A rowlock according to claim 5 wherein the flexible sheet is formed from a rubberised fabric.

7. A rowlock according to claim- 1 wherein the abutment members are formed integrally with the base member and the extending portions of said abutment members being joined by a common bridging portion.

8. A rowlock according to claim 7 wherein the transversely opposed faces of the abutment members are provided with longitudinally extending semicircular channels to enable an associated oar to be accommodated between the abutment members in a longitudinally aligned stowed position.

9. A rowlock according to claim 7 wherein the base member is provided with a raised ledge to support the shaft of an associated oar, the ledge being serrated by a series of transverse, vertical cuts to provide a compliant surface on which an oar shaft can rest.

10. A small craft having a rowlock comprising a base member having a surface for attachment to the craft and two abutment members rigidly attached to and extending from the base member in a direction away from said surface, the two abutment members spaced apart in the foreand-aft direction of the craft to defined a passage for an associated oar therebetween, said abutment members including l-ugs having end portions extending towards each other in said fore-and-aft direction and substantially parallel to said base member, the base portions of the abutment members also being arranged to be spaced apart in a direction transversely of the said fore-and-aft direction.

11. A small craft according to claim 10- wherein retaining means is provided for holding an associated oar in a stowed position in a fore-and-aft position between the two abutment members so that on disengagement of the oar from the retaining means the oar can be moved into a rowing position without disengagement from the rowlock.

12. A small craft according to claim 10 wherein the retaining means comprises a pocket attached to the craft in a position forward of the rowlock for location of the loom end of the oar, and a strap attached to the craft in a position aft of the abutment members of the rowlock for holding the blade of the oar.

13. A rowlock for a small craft, comprising a base 7 member having a surface for attachment to the craft and two abutment members extending from the base member in a direction away from said surface, the two abutment members spaced apart in the fore-and-aft direction of the craft to define a passage for an associated oar therebetween, said abutment members including lugs having end portions extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rowlock and towards each other in said fore-and-aft direction, each of the said lugs extending beyond a transverse line intersecting the midpoint of said passage, the base portions of the abutment members being spaced apart transversely to the fore-and-aft direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 190,131 5/ 1877 Danielson 9-26 532,714 1/1895 Stone 926 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,639 2/1887 Great Britain.

DUANE A. REGER, Primary Examiner J. E. PITTENGER, Assistant Examiner 

